Anna Maassel, a Ph.D. student in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and Gund Graduate Fellow, took home first place honors at this year’s Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®).
Developed in 2008 at The University of Queensland, the internationally recognized research communication competition challenges Ph.D. students to compellingly summarize their work and why it matters in 180 seconds. Participants are allowed only one slide, no props and must use plain language that is accessible to a general audience.
Maassel, whose work lies at the intersection of human well-being and the environment, said her 3MT experience was both valuable and challenging.
“I'm used to having so much more time to explain things, and then take questions from the audience, too,” she said. “But in job interviews, networking at conferences, and even just talking to friends, that audience wants the short version, too. I feel like writing the script has given me sentences that I will come back to again and again to explain my research.”
She added that all of the competitors were top notch, and she was heartened by the support from students, faculty and staff at both Rubenstein and Gund.
During her 180 seconds, Maassel shared her research into the effects of wildlife smoke on children’s health.
Last year, she was part of a team at UVM that published the first study examining the relationship between wildfire smoke and asthma in the Northeast, which in recent years has seen a marked increase in poor air quality days due to wildfires. The study, published in the journal Environmental Health, found exposure to smoke from Canadian wildfires in the summer of 2023 led to worsening asthma symptoms in children in Vermont and upstate New York.
The 3MT competition at UVM is open to currently enrolled Ph.D. students who have begun their dissertation research and can present material based on their original research. Since UVM began hosting the 3MT in 2024, Gund Graduate Fellows have swept the top awards.
“Three years in a row, Gund Graduate Fellows have earned top honors in the Three Minute Thesis Competition. That speaks to something fundamental about this community,” said Taylor Ricketts, director of the Gund Institute for Environment. “These students are not only advancing rigorous, impactful research—they’re also learning how to communicate why it matters in clear, compelling ways. That combination is essential for turning science into real-world solutions, and it’s exactly what we strive to cultivate at the Gund and UVM.”
In 2024, Biology Ph.D. student and Gund Graduate Fellow Alison Hall won top honors at the inaugural competition for her presentation titled, “The World is Changing; How Do the Littlest Cope?”
Last year, Food Systems Ph.D. student and Gund Graduate Fellow Leslie Spencer took home first place for her presentation, “How to Save the Wild Bees?”
In addition to gaining valuable experience, first place winners receive $750.
You can learn more about UVM’s 3MT here.
About the Gund Institute: The Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont is a research center dedicated to understanding and tackling the world’s most critical environmental challenges. Driven by the belief that research should inspire action, the Institute takes a cross-sector approach to solving environmental issues with stakeholders from government, business, and broader society. The Institute focuses on five interconnected research themes: climate solutions, sustainable agriculture, health and well-being, equity and justice, and resilient communities. With 300 scholars in Vermont and across the world, the Institute brings together a network of internationally recognized researchers from diverse disciplines, including the natural and social sciences, business, health, technology, engineering, and the humanities.
